Lets go play with some big cats! – picture special

We really enjoyed Tiger Kingdom whilst we were in Chiang Mai. Within 24 hours of us arriving Jeremy Living the Dream had persuaded us to hop in the back of a Songtao and head off to play with some big (and I mean BIG) cats.

We signed up to meet three different types of tigers,

Baby

Small

Big

To enter three different cages it costs 1260 Thai baht each, around 25 pounds. They say that you need to pay for an extra photographer if you are by yourself but the handlers are usually happy to snap a couple for you. We’ve lined up our favourite photos from the day, for more information check out Jeremys post.

Tiger Kingdom – Chiang Mai

Baby Tigers

The baby tigers are about 5/6 months old and about the size of a small dog already! These are quite possibly the cutest things I have seen in a while!

How cute is little La La?

Holding a baby tiger in between my legs!

Daddy tiger in the making!

We really didn’t want leave La La

Small Tiger

Next up were the small tigers, these are just 8 months old, but they are already at least twice the size as the babies! As you can see I wasn’t quite sure about them…

I was pretty confident at first, until he looked at me!

All three of us together

Once the boys stopped showing off I decided I could have a another quick pose!

Big Tiger

The biggest tiger you can hang out with at Tiger Kingdom is just under two years. We were introduced to an 18month old called Oscar, and he was plenty big enough. A mixture of scared faces and trying to pretend this is natural…

I thought I was a little more brave until I met this guy – he is massive!

Poi is taking it all in his stride – like normal

Maybe not! Look how big his head is!

In fact look how big his paws are. You can see why they are called big cats!

Massive Tiger

Once they are two, the general public aren’t allowed near them and they are sold to zoos as part of a breeding program. Thank god we didn’t have to pet them – I was freaking out enough at the big size!

Luckily there is a very filmsy fence between us and the big big tigers

Chilling on top of his perch – I guess they must become massive posers in the two years they are in contact with humans everyday!

We really enjoyed our day at Tiger Kingdom, and they have a lovely cafe which overlooks the tiger enclousre, which is good if you are not brave enough to go in. To see more pictures of the day check out our Facebook page: No Place To Be

Ohhhh my gosh I wanna cuddle with baby tigers!!! I love cats of all sizes. But I think I would have been a bit wary about those giant kitties, too, Kirsty!Amanda´s last blog post ..The Pros and Cons of Travel

Hehe, love your face Kirsty in the photo when the 18mo old wakes up 🙂 I think I’d be okay with the younger ones but not so sure about the older one! 🙂Heather´s last blog post ..Living the dream- 6 months in

Yeah, they say they aren’t drugged just trained from a young age but we weren’t completely convinced.. I would have happily spent the whole time with the little babies, we got to see some ones that were only a few weeks old… they were the size of a domestic cat but sooooo cute 🙂

OK I don’t like traditional cats (husband has one and I hate him!), but what is it about big cats that’s just so darn cool? That last photo of the three of you and the tiger is classic!Camels & Chocolate´s last blog post ..Ho Ho Ho! What to Buy the Traveler in Your Life

Oh my gosh, that is awesome!!! Those baby tigers are so precious. And that picture of you with the tiger roaring is priceless! I’ve also heard that they claim that the tigers aren’t drugged and that they just get used to being around humans at a young age–I like to think that’s the truth. But I read one travel blogger say they thought they saw a worker slipping one of them some type of white powder one time. Hmmm…regardless, I want to go there someday!

Pics are great of these wonderful beasts and what an amazing experience to have. I would be very very nervous but Tiger Kingdom at Chiang Mai is definitely going on my bucket list. Great post.Travellyn´s last blog post ..The Strand Tropical TownsvilleNorth Queensland

Most stupid thing you could do anywhere. No cat is trained completely. Stupid people would do this.
Plus, its not fun for the cats having to be poked and fawned over hour after hour.
Please avoid this type of ‘adventure’.

My husband & I visited Tiger Kingdom when we were in Chiang Mai for our honeymoon. I have to admit, I was a little nervous that the animals were not going to be treated well but once we were there we were both impressed by the quality that we did see.

For all those that claim that the tigers are drugged, have you ever spent a day with a house cat? I have a cat & she sleeps most of the day, it’s just how the animals are.

Hi, we're Poi and Kirsty! Join us as we try to create the perfect life for ourselves doing what we love. There will be diving, skiing, teaching and more as we travel the world trying new things and having fun along the way. Want the full story?